Sushi XIII
by Froline el-Vasper
Summary: AU. An AkuRoku fic. Roxas and the gang take Pence to a sushi place for his birthday, and end up meeting a certain red head in the process. CHAPTER 6: Sora goes a bit crazy over a certain silver-haired boy and Roxas becomes a bit paranoid...
1. The Spicy Red Dragon

Sushi XIII

By Froline El-Vasper

AN: Holy shit! It's been forever since I've written fanfiction (or anything for that matter). I know I haven't written much over the years since I joined This style is a bit different from my other fics, because I want it to be…(oh jeeze…mindless tangent ANYWAY). Yes, yes, another AkuRoku fic (as everyone seems to be calling them nowadays)…and perhaps a little Demyx spliced in later (because Demyx is so cute). And maybe some Hayner x Olette? I dunno. I really wanted to write a KH fanfic, since the first game came out in 2002. So…one day, when several friends and I went to see the premier of Silent Hill (squee!), we ate at a Sushi place, and this is how this fic sprang into existence. Yes…an AU, but hopefully a good one at that…(shrugs). As always, Squizzy owns all (save sushi) and let the stuffness begin…

Warnings: Language, Shounen-ai, Yaoi (graphically so in later chapters). XD

  
Chapter One: The Spicy Red Dragon 

"Oh, wow, guys. You really didn't have to do this for me." Pence grinned widely to his friends: Hayner, Olette, and Roxas. "I mean, isn't this place pretty expensive?"

The four of them stood outside in the summer glow of early sunset in front of a new sushi place called Sushi Thirteen. Well, yes, it was on the rather expensive side, but it was Pence's seventeenth birthday at any rate. Roxas smiled at his friend sheepishly, just like the others did, more so out of reminiscence. Hayner had been planning this for months, enlisting both Olette and Roxas, as well as himself, in odd jobs over the past several weeks saving up for this day. It was hard enough trying to keep the whole thing a secret when they had been gone all the time from The Usual Spot. Hayner was the first to break the silence, punching Pence playfully in the arm.

"Well, we're like family. And it _is_ your seventeenth birthday, so might as well take you someplace special, yeah? And besides—"

"We're making it up for your last birthday, remember, when Hayner gave you a cold?" Olette piped in. Hayner stared at her disdainfully.

"Don't _yo_u have a great memory?" He tapped his foot on the pavement. "Surprised you don't remember the time when you "accidently" bumped into Seifer with your _face_. I hope he didn't stick his tongue down your—"

"Hey! You weren't supposed to tell anyone about that!" Olette turned a bright pink and Pence began laughing. "T-that's not true. And even if it were, it still wouldn't be true!"

Hayner laughed as he let his hands graze the nape of his neck "Way to comeback."

Roxas grinned at the three of them. He was happy for his friends, happy that he could spend time with them, but he knew that it wouldn't last forever. _Stop thinking like that, it's the beginning of summer._ Roxas sighed heavily. He couldn't escape the truth of the statement; it _was_ one of their last summers together before everyone split up and went their separate ways. He'd really miss them; the times when they'd sit on the top of the clock tower, swinging their legs over the side and grinning at the sunset with remnants of sea-salt ice cream on their lips. They never had to say anything at times like those. They could look from one another and understand how much they all meant to each other.

"So...you just gonna stand there or what?" Hayner waited for a response from his blond counterpart, but received none. "Hellllloooo? Earth to Roxas."

Roxas shook himself from his reverie. He clasped the back of his neck, and a nervous smile crossed his lips. Hayner shook his head "Man, what's wrong with you? You sick or something?" Olette's smile didn't fade, yet she looked minorly concerned "If he's sick, it's all your fault."

"Aw…kissy, kissy, kissy" Hanyer puckered his lips ridiculously, and sucked the air in. Olette marched over to Hayner and slapped the back of his head swiftly. "Knock it off!"

"Ow!"

Roxas laughed along with Pence. "C'mon you two. You wouldn't want to spoil your friend's birthday here, right?" Pence scratched the back of his head and grinned. "Hey, it doesn't matter, Roxas. You know how long they've always had it for each other." Olette and Hayner both turned bright shades of pink to red to fuchsia, and finally, a violent, yet humorous, shade of violet.

"Well, Pence, you _do_ have a point…" Roxas grinned.

"Thanks for making me lose my appetite, Roxas" Olette put her hands on her hips and leaned forward, annoyed.

"So...now that's all over..." Hayner put an arm around Roxas and began to guide him to the restaurant. "Let's put it behind us, shall we? And no more out of you, porcupine head."

"Porcupine he—?"

"I said shut up!"

There was a piece of paper taped to the door with neatly written letters, saying: "Please Slide to Open" with an arrow moving to the right. In the right corner, they noticed a chibi pulling the other way, looking frustrated.

"Oh wow! That's so cute!" Olette remarked, as Hayner slid the door open "Hey! Do you mind? I was looking at that."

After Pence had walked inside, Hayner still held the door, looking incredulously at her. Suddenly, a mischievous grin crossed his face. "Oh. Sorry." He slammed the door quickly, sticking his tongue out.

"Hey! C'mon. Hayyyyynneeer!" Roxas sighed heavily then laughed "I don't know why he does this. 'Specially on Pence's birthday." He looked to Olette, who had a frustrated grin on her face. Roxas looked at the drawing briefly before taking hold of the door handle. "Y'know, you kinda look like that drawing."

"Hey!" she punched him in the arm, suddenly laughing. "Not funny!"

"Ow! Well, you do!" He rolled his eyes before he shook his head and laughed. "And I thought Pence was the one supposed to be taking birthday punches today, not me." He walked inside with Olette, "Let's see where they got to..."

Hayner hadn't lied when he had said the place was nice. _Really_ nice. And probably, pretty expensive at that. There were some polished lacquered tables on the left that went to the back of the restaurant, and a hallway that seemed to lead to private rooms upstairs. The walls and what not, were covered in Japanese paraphernalia. Light music drifted from somewhere he couldn't place. It seemed that they had just opened, and were preparing for a long night, as there wasn't a considerable amount of clientele. To the right, on a raised portion of the floor was a cleanly kept sushi bar...

And that's when he first noticed the red hair.

Most of it was covered underneath the black bandanna he adorned. Some of it poked out from the sides slightly, and seemed to fall to his shoulder blades. The blond couldn't quite catch his eye color, as he seemed intently working on sushi. Roxas began to feel a bit...odd. Yeah, he seemed pretty cool, but, there was something else that he felt that he just couldn't quite place.

He suddenly felt eyes burning on him, yet in that direction. He suddenly noticed another man about the age of the red head with light brown hair that fell to his shoulders, and adorning the same uniform. The red head looked up in his direction and followed the other sushi chef's "discreetly" pointing finger to Roxas. Green met blue for an instant. A hot blush flamed across his face as he quickly looked away. Staring? He wasn't staring. Oh, most certainly not. He...he couldn't have been. And if he was? Well...he was watching the sushi being made. And sushi was good... Sushi being...rolled by the redhead's hands...

Roxas' eyes widened at the thought. _Oh, fuck. No...no. Too weird...too weird..._

"Roxas? Are you alright?" Olette raised an eyebrow, peering into his face. "looks like you're a bit flushed..."

"Flushed? Me? Uh...no...just...uhm...hot flashes..."

_Oh yeah, hot flashes. Good one, Roxas._

Did he hear someone laughing at him from the left?

Olette shook her head "Aren't you a little young to be getting those—" she closed her eyes and turned to the receptionist's desk. A small blond girl with an apologetic smile stood behind the desk, wearing a name pin that said "Namine".

"I'm sorry. He's been acting rather...strangely today" Olette began and looked back at Roxas, who was glaring at her, but that was about as far as she got before the "hostess", known as Namine, let a nervous giggle bubble from her lips and shook her head "It's alright. You shouldn't worry about it. I'll take you to your friends." As she grabbed two menus, she sympathetically smiled at Roxas "My mother gets those all the time"

Roxas' jaw dropped, or at least he thought it did. Was she trying to make him feel worse? Because it certainly was working.

She led them briskly over to Hayner and Pence...

Both of them were sitting at the sushi bar. And the only two empty seats were on the right.

Which were right in front of the red head.

Roxas soon had a desire to leave, not noticing the blush creeping back on his face again. He didn't feel like eating anymore as each step took them closer to the sushi bar, the hairs on his neck raising, as Olette took the seat next to Hayner, and Roxas, without noticing, slid into the seat at the far end of the bar. Hayner took a sip of what looked to be orange soda "What took you guys so long?" Hayner leaned in and smiled "Seifer wasn't good enough for you, huh?" Olette gripped the bar, her knuckles turning white. Roxas wouldn't have been surprised if she had broken a chunk of it off and flung it at Hayner.

"Hey, Roxas, how was it? Was she a good kisser?" Hayner began making those annoying kissing sounds again, as Pence sighed, with a good humoured smirk on his face. Roxas just ignored Hayner's remark and tried looking elsewhere but the front.

Where the red head was…

Olette let an elbow rest on the sleek, laqured wood bar "Well, if it hadn't been for you slamming the freaking door in my face, we would have been here a lot sooner."

Hayner smirked "So it's all my fault, huh? I'd blame it all on Mr. porcupine head over there--"

Roxas decided to ignore their bickering a while longer before intervening again, reminding them that it was Pence's birthday, and that the newly turned seventeen year old didn't have to--no, shouldn't have to put up with them. Then Pence, out of his good, sympathetic heart, would say that everything was alright, and that would probably solve everything.

Roxas breathed a sigh of relief, after staring down at the sushi card that accompanied the menu. He marked in two orders of California rolls, and was about to calmly start his "speech" when, suddenly, something caught his eye.

It was an obnoxious shade of red.

Even though Roxas warned himself not to look, he felt his head turning to face what was in front of him.

Roxas' stomach dropped and his heart nearly burst. It was the red headed sushi chef, as if he couldn't tell sooner.

_Fuck._

Roxas saw, with little hope, that the sushi chef's gaze was directed at his work, not him. He took this opportunity to turn to Olette and resume his plan, letting a hand run through his unruly blond hair.

If it had only been that easy.

Roxas found himself not able to look away, and suddenly found himself studying the odd, yet interesting, tear drop shaped tattoos underneath each eye. The fiery headed chef paused briefly and looked up at Roxas, a curious look crossing his features. Roxas felt his skin prickle, as if he had been laced with stapes of fire. He wanted desperately to look away but he found that he couldn't. A ghost of a grin graced the older boy's lips, before going back to his work, raising both eyebrows and mouthing "…oooookay". Roxas suddenly felt his tongue go numb.

He suddenly felt an elbow in his side "Ow!" he winced quietly, and met Olette's incredulous stare. Roxas noticed a blond with various piercing sticking out of his ears and, pinned to his uniform, was the name "Luxord". He stood with a small notepad, looking at Olette, waiting for her to say something. "Two ginger ales, please." she gave him a smile as if to say "There's nothing wrong here. Nothing at all." She shoved a napkin in his direction with something scribbled on it in pencil. The words, after deciphering them, had shocked him. He quickly folded the napkin over and put a forearm over it. The last few words rang in his head, as if Olette herself had said them.

_What's wrong with you. It's like you're…gay, or something_.

_Gay_? He wasn't _gay_! So what. Did looking at a guy make him gay? Hell, if it did, he'd either be going after Hayner or Pence, and he _definitely_ did not have those kind feelings for either of them. Besides…that would be…really…gross. He was so straight. He was as straight as a...as a...pencil or something, but what mattered most was that he was...not...gay. He couldn't be gay.

He...couldn't be. Could he?

He smiled inwardly to himself. _Nope, not gay. Not gay at all._

He turned back to his friends, to ease the doubt which he denied so easily. "So...what are you guys having?"

Pence looked back down at the slip of paper in his hands "Well, I'm having shrimp tempura rolls and...some of this kitsune udon stuff. Hayner's having eel and california rolls..."

Olette made a face at Hayner "Eel? Ew...When you're eating that, don't breathe in my direction. Or get some breath mints or…something"

Hayner gave her a look, "Yeah, well what're you having?" he snatched her sheet from her hands, then gave her a wierd look "Spider rolls? I hope it's not alive and laid eggs in your sushi."

"You…butt-munch." Olette ran a hand through her shoulder length brown hair "Spider rolls don't have spiders in them. They have—"

"Do you guys always have to fight?" Roxas grinned, "It's like...you're married or something."

Roxas felt a bit better when he registered the look on Olette's face, and couldn't help but laugh. Hayner was giving him a look to match. Roxas saw Pence nod and jab a thumb in their direction. "Like I said…meant for each other". Hayner grinned in Pence's direction, cracking his knuckles lightly "Hey, that reminds me…isn't it time for your birthday punches?" Pence laughed nervously, as Hayner, with a wicked grin, grabbed hold of his friend's pudgy arm and began to aim his fist at his shoulder. Olette sighed. "How about you take that outside, alright?" Hayner looked around, after seeing several odd looks from various patrons. He shrugged and, took a sip from his soda "Fair enough. Besides, If I were married to Olette, I'd kill myself first". As the blond returned with Olette's and Roxas' drinks, Pence looked across the bar to Roxas "So...what're you having?" Roxas shrugged "California Rolls".

"I swear...if I have to make an order of those again, I'm going to go _insane_."

All four of them looked at the fiery haired sushi chef in confusion. His pale lips and cheeks were bloated with an exhalation of breath. He scanned all four of them briefly, before letting his eyes return back to the sushi mat, squeezing it gently and unrolling it dexterously. Roxas, suddenly, for some reason, yearned to hear his voice again. Although, it was Hayner's turn to speak.

"What's wrong with California rolls?"

1414

The redhead rubbed his wrist on his forehead briefly before continuing "Everyone orders them...all the time. You'd expect the people that go to Sushi places wanted to be daring." He shook his head, eyes falling on Roxas, "I guess not."

Roxas wanted to get away from the intensity of his stare. It felt like he could see through his clothes, or something. His throat began narrowing, or it seemed like he couldn't suck in enough air as their eyes met again. Or that he, somehow, crazily enough, read the napkin.

But...if he wasn't gay, why was he feeling so...so...

"Then what would you suggest...uh…?"

"Axel. Got it memorized?"

Axel? Roxas' eyes went to his name pin as the red head averted his gaze to Olette. Sure enough, there, written neatly, was the name "Axel".

Even before Axel could open his mouth to answer Olette's question, the brown haired sushi chef shook his head and a rich chuckle reverberated in his throat, looking from the four, to his compatriot, to his work. "Giving the kids your famous sushi speech, I take it?" Axel nodded, yet seemed slightly annoyed. "C'mon Marluxia, they need their cullinary horizons expanded, 'specially this one."

Roxas felt the familiar blush flare on his cheeks again as a slender and long finger, gloved in white latex was pointed at him. He heard his friends giggle. He looked up at Axel to see a grin on his face, for only a few fleeting seconds that pleasantly felt like an eternity, before pointing over at Hayner. "...and this one too, but since he ordered eel, he's only half forgiven." A smile came to Roxas' face, as Olette and Pence laughed, while Hayner shrugged "Hey, can't be perfect."

"Well—" Axel leaned over the bar, coming in rather close proximity of Roxas "--that's why we're here to help."

Did he smell sandalwood? Well...whatever it was, Roxas definetly knew it was emanating from Axel.

"Axel?...Marluxia?" A deep, rich voice intervened. Roxas watched Axel's green eyes go wide as he bit his lower lip, he turned to Marluxia briefly mouthing something that looked like "Oh Shit". Marluxia didn't really seem phased; then again, he was quite concentrated in his work. The four turned to see a man wearing a black suit, his face sporting a scar and an eye patch; a graying ponytail hung over his shoulder and went well past his crossed arms. "Are you troubling these four youths here?" Axel shook his head "No, Xigbar. We were just giving them recommendations." the man, now known as Xigbar, quirked an eyebrow. It was Pence who defended their situation "Yes, sir. They were only helping us." Xigbar made a curteous nod, "Very well, so sorry for the disturbance". He gave Axel a brief glare before turning on his heel and marching off.

"Jeeze. Who was _that_?" Hayner leaned in, speaking just above a whisper. Marluxia seemed a little too absorbed in his work "Our manager who's got a death warrant on Axel's head" Axel's head snapped to look at Marluxia, with a surprised expression on his face. The other sushi chef didn't even look up, but a slight smirk formed on his lips. Axel let out an exasperated sigh as he leaned against the countertop behind the bar. "Why don't you go ahead and tell them my life story while you're at it?" Marluxia reached for a fresh piece of seaweed calmly. "Well, just stating the obvious. And it's not my problem if he shows up at your apartment with a twelve-gauge ready to blow your freakin' head off."

Axel paused looking at the counter-top for a minute "Wouldn't he do that to anyone?" His compatriot stopped as well and began to regard the ceiling. "Hm. I guess you're right. Sub-machine gun for you."

Axel was about to protest before checking himself and looking back at the four sympathetically. "I'm sorry. You guys must be starving. I can take those, if you're ready." He pointed at the slips of paper. Olette handed them to him, and he looked them over, making various noises of approval "Uh-huh...alright...ah!" Axel's eyes fell on Roxas again "You're Mr. California roll, yeah?" Roxas couldn't help but smile and chuckle, averting his eyes "Yeah..."

"Why not try this instead?"

Roxas took back his slip of paper, and looked to where the red head had pointed. "Spicy Red Dragon Roll?"

Axel grinned, leaning against the countertop again. Axel's strange yet pleasant scent filled Roxas' nostrils. "Yeah, they're reaaaally good. Not too spicy, but just enough for a good aftertaste. Give it a try."

At this particular moment, Roxas' would have even agreed to a suggestion of sushi made from raw liver and pepper. He was beginning to not regret his choice of sitting in front of him at the sushi bar. "Alright."

Axel's grin broadened "Excellent. Trust me, you won't regret it."

----------------------------------

AN: I hope people got the reference to liver-pepper, when choosing the password to enter the "alternate" Twilight Town. Liver-pepper ice cream. Ew. No thanks.

So…R&R…or R&F? 'Tis your decision…


	2. Beautiful Stranger

AN: Thanks for the reviews . I really want to finish the damn game, but I've other things to do, (like homework and, writing these stories for you nice people). For some reason, this took me forever to write. Perhaps there was so much to stuff in here…oh well… A note for the previous chapter: I don't know why the '1414' is in there…hm…ponderous much. The "happy birthday" lyrics are credited to Cyrus-kun X3.

Previous chapter note: Spicy Red Dragon sushi rolls actually do exist. I've had them when I was in New York (can't remember the name of the place), and they're very good. A compilation of tuna and crab. Anyway…

Warnings: Language, Shounen-ai…the usual…

Chapter Two: Beautiful Stranger

"…Fourteen! Fifteen! Sixteen! Seventeen!" Hayner laughed as Pence gave out a last "ow" of pain. The dark haired boy chuckled nervously, massaging his shoulder. As soon as he did, Hayner grabbed for his arm again. "Waaaait!...One for good luck…One for long life…and one for—"

"Hayner! Will you stop already? You're going to kill Pence's arm!" Olette had a wry grin on her face as she attempted to pull the two boys apart. Hayner shook his head and lifted up Pence's limb "This? It's pulp already!" Pence pulled his arm back, and landed a punch on his bony shoulder.

"Hey! C'mon, Pence!" Hayner grabbed protectively at his own arm.

"You deserved it, Hayner." Olette walked on crossing her arms over her chest as she left the two boys, still bickering. She wandered a ways ahead to find a drifting Roxas, gazing at the sunset. "Emo kid" she huffed quietly, before approaching him. "Hey, Roxas…"

The blond whirled around, azure eyes wide. His resolve then melted into a relaxedness. "Oh…Olette. It's—" The brunette grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards a wall, out of hearing distance. "Will you _stop _acting like this? What's gotten into you?" She stared disbelievingly at him, brown eyes stark with confusion. Roxas stepped back from his friend, his eyes tracing along the pavement "Nothing."

"It's better to talk about it, than to _lie_ about it!" Olette's voice brought Roxas' visage back to her own. His heart leapt in his chest at the sudden approach of his friends. "Nothing's wrong, Olette, just let it go!"

"But Roxas--!" The brunette looked back and immediately quieted at Hayner's and Pence's arrival. She quickly shoved a playful punch at Roxas' shoulder. "…and you should never talk about my sister that way again!"

An odd look graced Hayner's face as he looked in Roxas' direction "_You_ were making fun of Olette's sister? Jeeze, Roxas." He pulled his blond counterpart to the side "Awesome!"

"What was that, Hayner?" The brunette advanced on them, her hands on her hips.

"Uh…nothing" The boy chuckled, and then suddenly coughed.

"So, what're we gonna do tomorrow, guys?" Pence regarded his friends with a smile. Hayner shrugged "Dunno. You two got any suggestions?" Both the blond and brunette shook their heads, and Hayner looked back to Pence "Guess not. We'll meet at the Usual Spot tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Pence waived briefly, then turned abruptly "I really gotta thank you, guys. I've never really had a surprise birthday before." The three smiled, as they had previously. Hayner, of course, had something to say.

"Well…your birthday isn't complete yet." The blond cleared his throat and sucked in a good amount of air.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! YOU LIVE IN A ZOO! YOU LOOK LIKE A MONKEY! AND YOU KICK ASS LIKE ONE TOO! Ow!..."

Hayner rubbed the back of his head after Olette gave him a piercing glare "Language!". The blond gave her a withering look. "Oh jeeze, thanks _mom_."

Roxas laughed and turned his gaze to Pence "Happy Birthday, dude."

It was then Olette's turn to smile "Yep. Happy Birthday, Pence."

Pence grinned. "Thanks a lot. You're all the best…I really mean it. See you tomorrow."

The three watched Pence head off to the tram common. Roxas was suddenly aware of an arm around his shoulder, as was Olette. "Well, guys…I think we did good today." Hayner look to each of them. "If it hadn't been for my genius—"

"Your genius? Since when—"

"Guys! Guys!" Roxas rubbed both hands over his face after laughing. "Give it a rest, will you? I don't think my head can take any more of this."

"Alright, Roxas. Just for you." Hayner made a face as he waltzed in the direction of the sandlot. "See you tomorrow."

Both Olette and Hayner waived, and as soon as Hayner was out of earshot, the brunette grabbed the blond's wrist again. She looked him square in the eye "Alright, out with it, Roxas. What was going on at the Sushi restaurant?"

"I told you, Olette. Nothing happened." Roxas clenched his jaw, not noticing that his heart was racing. He turned away briefly, subtly trying to wrench his arm from his friends surprisingly tight grasp.

"So why did you ogle…the sushi chef the entire time?"

Roxas whipped around, his mouth hanging open. Olette's face twisted to a grin at the blond's expression "Sorry to be blunt. You put in on yourself. Oh…and you're blushing."

Roxas suddenly became very aware of the heat generating from his face. "…Am not!" He suddenly felt his face get a bit redder at the very mention of his embarrassment. He _hated_ that tactic, and always fell for it. Olette rolled her eyes and dragged him over to the nearest bench, and forced him to sit. Roxas slumped in the gentle curve of the bench, defeated. Olette began pacing in front of him.

"Remember that little note I passed you during dinner?" She stopped dead stairing down into his face. He didn't meet her gaze.

"…yeah…? So what?"

"Roxas, just confront your feelings. It'll be so much—"

Roxas was on his feet in an instant, staring Olette down. "Since when did you become the psychiatrist? For the last time, Olette, I'm not…"

The words stuck in his throat.

"I'm not…gay, alright?"

Roxas suddenly felt a pang of discomfort as he regarded his friend's expression. He muttered a curse under his breath as he ran a hand over his face and began walking quickly away. He didn't know where, and it didn't matter to him. Just so he could find a place to breath.

He didn't even stop when Olette called his name.

Lips brushed against his exposed skin as Roxas' eyes flickered. Red hair feathered across his face as an unexpected sensation abruptly emanated from his earlobe. A breathy moan escaped his lips, and his heart fluttered as a smooth chuckle pressed into his right ear. "What fun you are."

The lips traversed down his neck slowly, gently, each kiss speaking something different. Roxas' neck arched, as his brows knitted themselves together, eyes rolled in the back of his head. The lips disappeared all together, much to Roxas' disappointment. And his eyes opened…

…to meet a desolate ecru ceiling.

Roxas sat up and rubbed his right eye with the heel of his hand. He paused briefly, trying to remember who the figure in his dream was. The presence had made him feel more than comfortable, and aroused in a sort of giddy, nervous way. The only proof that he actually _had_ a dream was the skin on his neck tingling. Roxas bit his lip in thought. It had seemed far too real to have been a mere illusion of the mind, yet, he sensed…and felt…

His eyes blearily scanned the room, for the remnants of his dream, he felt pain between his legs, and he—

A blush flared on the boy's face as he made a sudden note of his morning arousal. Before he could move a muscle, he could hear fast approaching footsteps; ones that he couldn't place as either parent.

_Shit!_

His first instinct was to fling himself on his side, facing the window, and to throw his sheet over him. As the door was flung open he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. Hayner was known to forget that people had certain amounts of privacy.

"Hayner, don't you think we should have knocked first?" Pence's voice.

"Well, It's been a hour, and I think he needs a proper wake-up call." _Obviously_ Hayner.

He could hear someone approaching the proximity of his bed, a presence standing over him, and the blood-flow to his nether regions wasn't decreasing either.

_Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit._

"Roxas…c'mon, get up." Roxas felt pressure on the bed, a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. The blond grunted sleepily, still trying to keep the ruse up for a bit longer, praying that thoughts of his third grade teacher would aid his situation.

"Roxas…Roxas…ROXAS!" The blond felt his friend stand, the presence gone. Roxas inwardly felt relief.

Until the sheet was whipped from his body…

Roxas immediately rolled onto his stomach, biting back a wince of pain. For added, effect, he gripped his pillow and stuffed his face in its feathery depths as he prayed for someone to save him.

"C'mon, what _is _this? Roxas, it's me, Hayner. I brought Pence with me." Hayner sat down again, prodding his friend in the ribs with a finger.

Roxas meant to say something to the effect of 'Hi, guys', but it came out more like "hmmmmph mmmfff". He felt an unpleasant, pulling sensation from the back of his head. "Owwwww…Hayner."

Roxas' eyes gazed into Hayner's sepia ones, watching as they first changed from mock annoyance to slight concern. "Hey, you okay? You've _really _been acting weird lately."

Roxas shook his head, futilely grasping for the sheets in his awkward position. "I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately, is all." He propped himself on the pillow, looking up at Hayner. "Just gimme a few minutes, alright?"

Hayner was about to protest, when Pence placed an arm on his shoulder. Hayner's shoulders slumped, finally looking back at Roxas. "Alright. But don't take too long, we don't have all day, you know." They both left, Pence shutting the door behind him. As soon as Roxas heard their retreating footsteps become silence. He shot out of bed and gave an aggravated cry, hands pulling at his face. He noted that his arousal had decreased significantly, and sighed, throwing himself at the bathroom.

Within a half hour, Roxas entered The Usual Spot. He received energetic grins from his two friends whom had met him previously, yet the third did not meet his gaze at all. Olette stared sullenly into the ground at his approach. A pang of guilt filled his heart as he assumed his seat. Hayner, like always, was the first to speak.

"Hey, we've got a few days of summer left, so…what are we gonna do with them?" He looked around at his counterparts, who remained silent.

"We could check out the seven wonders of Sunset Terrace…" Pence offered, throwing a glance in Hayner's direction.

"Nah…"

"We could work on our projects…" Olette's head lolled up, hopefully.

"Work on homework? It's summer!" Hayner gave the sullen brunette a scrutinizing glance. " _I _ think…we should go to the beach."

It was now Roxas' turn to give Hayner an odd look "Isn't the beach expensive?"

Hayner stood and faced the group, still firm in his resolve "So? We'll get jobs!"

"This is beginning to sound a bit familiar, Hayner" Olette stood, with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, c'mon. It wasn't all _that _bad last time." The blond patted the brunette's shoulder lightly. He sighed when he saw that she still wasn't convinced. "Wasn't all that bad last time? Do I have to remind you of that pervert that sat in the café, _just_ to watch me waitress. It got weirder when he brought a sketchbook with him."

"Look, Olette. You can work somewhere else, where there aren't any…perverts, as you call them." He waived his hands about for emphasis. "Besides, if worse comes to worse, we can just prostitute Roxas for a little bit of pocket change."

The blond paled, and nearly fell backwards, had it not been for the crates behind him "You're going to do _what_!"

The others laughed at Roxas' expense "Just kidding, dude. You've seriously gotta lighten up. No one'll hire you if you don't have a positive attitude."

Roxas sighed, then smiled. Things weren't going to get any easier by the look of them.

AN: Ooh…wonder where he's going to work (tee hee hee). This chapter is really meant to set things up, so much slash-iness can ensue. I don't like apologizing for my work, but this chapter isn't very good. I'll come out with Chapter three, soon. I promise!


	3. God, I Need this Job

AN: Sorry this took so long to come out, but it's extra long, yeah? Thanks so much for the reviews, guys . While writing this chapter, I've been watching youtube, and came across Axel and Demyx singing "Shut your fking face, Uncle Fker…" (http/ (GASP! shameless advertisment! (spelled with the British pronunciation).) I'm bad because I didn't credit Squizzy like I should have (I mean…it COULD have been Squizney…but Sqizzy is so cute! It's like a yellow beanbag creature thingy.) Tangents seem to be my trademark. So…Squizzy pwns! Oh…and Depeche Mode owns lyrics to "Here is the House". I'd like to also thank Renegade42 and Moliki Tejor for being my betas and help.

…oh yes…and for you Demyx/Axel fans…there's a little something for you in this chapter.

Warnings: Langauge, Shounen-ai, Yaoi, Demyx-bashing…the usual.

Chapter Three: God, I need this job

Roxas sat precariously across the street from Sushi Thirteen for what seemed like hours, gripping the strap of his messenger bag across his chest. It seemed like his only anchor that would keep him fully sane, and if he let go, he would spiral mindlessly into nothingness. The _only _place with a menial job open, had _been _the sushi restaurant. It was as if the whole damn thing were fated, if one considered Hayner, Pence, and Olette to be the three fates. Nevertheless, here he was; nervous, embarrassed, and love struck. However, the boy would never admit to himself the third and last item.

He exhaled through his nose, suddenly very aware of his heart palpitating in his chest. _C'mon, Roxas. You can do this. Just walk in there, and ask for a stupid application. _

He didn't mind asking for said application, it was only the one person whom he might encounter in doing so.

…_That…damn…red…hair…_

He just continued staring at the door; the deep crimson frame, the stainless steel loop of a door handle, the drawing still taped to the glass…_so what if he sees you. You'll be seeing a whole lot more of him anyway, _if _you get that job. Besides, maybe they'll send you out on delivery runs, or something. It's not like they're forcing you to work with him. _

A small suppressed smile began forming at his lips, at the irony of the situation. What was there to worry about? So what if the sushi chef saw him?

Roxas stood, straightening his jacket and gripped the strap of his messenger bag firmly near his waist. He strode to the door, and gently slid it open, his lips upturning at the remembrance of Olette's reaction. He felt the door behind him quietly shut on its own accord, the comforting blast of cool air coming from above. Quiet music thrummed from somewhere he couldn't place. It was different from the music yesterday; upbeat electric guitars, a quick voice darting in between. He bobbed his head lightly, glad to find something that he at least recognized. His cool, azure eyes scanned the restaurant for any of its staff, yet found none…

…Save a small blond girl, sitting at the sushi bar, her back to Roxas. He slowly advanced towards her, only recognizing her appearance. Upon close inspection, he noticed that she was filling out some forms, scattered over the blonde wood of the bar. An elbow would occasionally prop against the lacquered wood, the heel of her palm resting against her forehead, fingers renting through her hair, pencil between them. Her blue eyes floated up from her work, widening in slight astonishment. "Oh…sorry…didn't see you there."

"No…it's alright. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I should've waited over there." He jabbed a nervous thumb at the receptionist's desk. A smile flitted across her lips when he noticed the name pin: "Namine". "You would've been waiting a very long time." Her eyes twisted back to her work briefly before returning to Roxas. "Anyway…what can I do for you?"

Roxas ran a hand through his hair "Well, I saw that you wanted help, and I'd like an application." The girl, known as Namine, smiled, thankful that someone could take her away from her work "No problem. Wait right here." Roxas watched her hurry over to the receptionist's desk and slung his bag to the floor. His gaze then traveled around admiring several things, after taking a seat at the bar. His eyes roved over several of Namine's papers, before hearing the girl uttering several curses under her breath. He turned around in his seat.

"Hey, Namine. What're you trying to find? Looks like you're gonna rip the whole place apart." Roxas paled at the voice.

A slender form came into being from behind the sushi bar. Dark pants sluffed against the floor, accompanied by a black shirt and apron. Pale arms stood out against his uniform as did the insufferable shade of red.

"Oh. Axel…" Namine gave one last look in the depths of the desk itself before walking back to the sushi bar, resting her arms against it. "What are _you_ doing…lurking about"

"Lurking? I _don't_ lurk. I…just…happen to appear at the right time…" Axel said folding his arms across his chest neatly, both brows raised up in mock defiance. Namine grinned "Right…whatever…_sneak_."

"I'm not a _sneak_ either!" Axel chuckled, eyes quickly glancing from Roxas. Namine shook her head and looked at the boy "Don't mind him…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Axel.--" Namine quickly rebuked as protests began flying from his lips. "—Anyway…it seems that the applications have been misplaced again." Axel stood there for a minute, trying to assess the situation. He then snapped his fingers "I bet that Larxene moved them again. Damn klepto always screwing things up. I swear, she grates on my fucking—"

"Axel…please" Namine tried to stifle a giggle behind the back of her hand "Not so loud…" Axel followed the girl's gaze, and a strange look encompassed his face as he saw Roxas, as if trying to remember him. Roxas quickly looked down as Axel's eyes met his. All of his courage evaporated without a moments notice.

"Wait a sec…Didn't you come by the other day with some friends?" Roxas looked up, the red head's brow clouded with thought. All the boy could do was nod, as Axel laughed, both of his hands resting on his hips. "You sure are quite the talker. Got a name?" The blond forgot his own name for a mere second at the abrupt question. "Uhm…i-it's Roxas."

"Roxas…" Axel's eyes lazily floated to the ceiling, trying it for the first time. Roxas found it strange to hear his name come from Axel's lips. He wouldn't have noticed otherwise had it been someone else. The boy's features clouded, puzzled. Why did he feel differently? The red head extended his hand over the bar "I'm Axel."

Roxas stood up to get closer to him. Suddenly he felt his foot went awry around the chair, and he felt his legs collapse from underneath him. He, with short-lived relief, missed the bar, yet felt something hit him in the small of his back, and landed on the floor, chest first. He felt the wind knock out from him, his lip hitting the foot rest at the bottom, and that was when he realized the chair was on top of him. Roxas closed his eyes; a sick, embarrassed feeling flooding his body.

"Oh shit! Are you alright?" Axel's voice.

He felt gentle hands pull the chair away from him and, accompanied by a larger pair help him to a sitting position. Roxas finally opened his eyes finding both Namine and Axel looking concernedly at him. "Seriously. You okay?" Namine's pretty face was cast deeply with unease.

Roxas tried to smile nervously, and felt a searing pain at his bottom lip. He placed fingers at the source of the burn, and found the red stain of blood when he brought them away. Axel hissed, drawing breath in at the sudden injury. "Jeeze. That doesn't look so good." Roxas suddenly felt a large, yet gentle hand cup his chin. The boy soon found that his chin burned more than his lip, at the sudden, yet simple, contact of Axel's hand.

"Uhm…I think I'm gonna run and get a bandage for that—" Roxas snapped back to attention, seeing Namine smiling nervously at the both of them "—Can you find those applications, Axel?" A look of recognition crossed the young man's face, as he turned his gaze from Namine to Roxas, as if to say 'Oh…so you're the guy.'

"…Yeah…I'll go look for 'em." Axel nodded. The young sushi chef helped Roxas up, reaching for the bar and handing him several paper napkins. His green eyes smiled "It's the best for now, alright. And no more moving." He held out a cautionary finger, as he purposefully strode across the floor. Roxas breathed a quick sigh of relief, as the red head went out of sight, applying one of the tissues to his lip. Namine shuffled her papers after giving them an exhausted look. "Sorry for the wait…I'll get you a bandage right away"

Roxas smiled and waived a hand apologetically "Oh! No, it's fine. It's all my fault" The blond girl gave him a tired smile back, holding the papers to her chest. "We'll just saw that the chair attacked you." They both laughed, Roxas' ending in wincing.

"Just…thanks for putting up with this. Axel's always on about 'Larxene this' and 'Larxene that'. It just…drives all of us crazy—"Namine then shook her head, rolling her eyes at her own expense "—I don't know why I'm telling you all of this. I really shouldn't be running my mouth like that. Anyway, you can wait here while Axel comes back with your application." The girl turned on her heel and disappeared behind the hallway.

Roxas looked around briefly for anyone in sight, then slammed both elbows on the bar,

rending both hands through his hair. Why was this happening to him? He had made himself a complete idiot in front of Axel…_again_. Roxas felt the sudden and strong desire to leave. He couldn't do it. He couldn't face being embarrassed in front of _him_ again. He should have just stayed put instead of trying to reach forward…

_C'mon. You're acting like such a wuss. Besides, why does it matter so much anyway?_

"_Here is the house/where it all happened…_"

Roxas looked up to see a blond, lank man with a strange haircut, shouldering a yet stranger bag. The blond looked quite puzzled at the odd character, whose gaze milled about, covered by large sunglasses. He continued mouthing the lyrics of the current song that filtered through the walls of the restaurant as he advanced to the sushi bar.

_Oh great…_ Roxas turned around in his seat, wishing that he hadn't looked in the young man's direction. Grating of wood against wood, a thud to the floor, and the snap of the sunglasses closing made Roxas' visage turn to meet his newly acquired counterpart. He seriously began contemplating how much gel that he had to use in order to get his hair standing up at such ridiculous angles. Cobalt squinted behind pale lids as he waived rather affably. "Hiya!"

"Uhm…hi" Roxas, though appreciative of his kindness, was a bit disconcerted at the whole thing. Usually, when strangers were this friendly, they wanted something, and Roxas wasn't so sure what it was, and he didn't really want to know what it was anyway.

The strange blond nervously smiled after drumming his fingers on the lacquered wood a bit, then looked back at Roxas from his peripheral vision. "Nice place, yeah?"

"…yeah…"

"Don't come here often, do you?"

"Uhm…not really…"

"Neither do I. But I know quite a few people that work here." The blond with the strange haircut sighed heavily, which made Roxas look at him. Though not knowing him long, it did seem rather odd for the young man's cheery disposition. His expression changed to one of worry whereupon seeing Roxas holding a blood-stained napkin to his lower lip.

"What happened to you?"

"The chair attacked me."

The blond with the mullet laughed "No, seriously. How did'ja sustain that injury?"

"Like I said…the chair attacked me"

"…alright then…" The blond looked around for a bit before returning to Roxas' lip "Are you _sure_ you didn't fall or something?"

"Well…yeah…I fell…"

"Why didn't you come out with it sooner?"

"…I…I dunno…" Roxas began feeling more and more embarrassed, as he was being ostracized by the strange blond man.

"Oh! How rude of me." He turned to Roxas, who looked positively confused. "I'm Demyx. And you are?"

"…Roxas."

"You're a quiet guy, aren't you?"

"I…guess so…"

Demyx grinned as he began shifting in his chair, blalantly looking for someone. Roxas blinked confusedly as a burning question razed through his mind. "You're looking for someone, aren't you?"

The same cat-like smile appeared on his face from when he first opened his mouth. Roxas quirked an eyebrow at the gesture, but Demyx didn't seem to notice. "Thought you'd never ask."

"Alright, Roxas, sorry to keep you…" Axel emerged from behind the sushi bar and stopped dead when he saw Demyx "…waiting…"

Demyx's jaw undulated to the floor as he gawked at Axel. The redhead nearly crumpled Roxas' application in his sudden white-knuckled grip. The boy looked between both sushi chef and musician; eyes speaking things that he didn't even know about, yet the one thing that he _did_ manage to grasp was that whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"NicemeetingyouRoxasgottagobye!" Demyx jumped from his seat and headed from the door.

"DEMYX!" The restaurant reverberated from Axel's yell.

Demyx winced, and turned around, like a simpering puppy "Oh…bugger…"

Axel's glare found the sitarist grabbing a clammy hand at the back of his neck, his eyes seeming to find the ceiling _very_ interesting. The red head managed to contain all of his annoyance, malice, hatred, and that long stream of obscenities that he really wished to unleash at that very moment, into one comparatively minute phrase. "When did _you _decide to come back?"

Demyx gesticulated wildly with his hands "Chill out, will you? I came by here to see Zexion."

Axel sneered, seeming ready to pounce over the bar and wrap his hands around Demyx's fragile throat "Oh…you came by to see your new _plaything_, is that it?"

Demyx crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the redhead "Now that's just plain rude! Zexion is _far_ better at--"

Axel did something that both Roxas feared he would do. The sushi chef flung himself over the bar, landed in a swift, yet somewhat clumsy way, and grabbed Demyx's arm. Roxas barely had the chance to raise his voice before the blond and redhead undulated through the door. He had wished that Axel had left the application on the bar, but, apparently, it was far too urgent. Being careful not to fell himself again, he followed them, yet at a distance. Eventually, it was easier to locate the raised voices, ringing down the hallway. Roxas stopped behind the doorway of the origin of the sound. He peeked his head behind the doorway slowly, not as to draw attention to himself.

Demyx looked pleadingly up at Axel "C'mon, Axel…lighten up…"

"Lighten up? I'll lighten up when you get a job."

"I _did _get a job…see?" He held up the clunky black bag that Roxas had seen him carry in when he had arrived. The boy's curiosity piqued. It wasn't quite a guitar, yet it held the appearance of one. Axel looked at Demyx grimly "And what, pray tell, is _that_?". Demyx grinned as he unzipped the bag and both Roxas and Axel stared it in a mixture of confusion and awe.

"Demyx, what good is a banjo gonna do you?"

Demyx's eyes went wide with surprise. "Banjo! This is a _Sitar_." Demyx swiftly assumed a seat on the bench, holding the pale blue instrument with care and strummed a gratuitous stream of notes. Demyx's eyes slipped closed as his fingers gently traversed across the fretboard; notes sliding and melding into each other, like gently rising and lapping waves at a shoreline. Roxas felt his eyelids grow heavy at the quick and melodious singing of the sitar, a pleasant smile coming to his face as he leaned against the doorway gently.

Axel, however, did not feel the same.

The redhead quickly lad a palm across the fret board, to quiet the melody, which, in its ending sounded like small, dry, metallic squeaks. He then closed rough fingers around its neck, as he bought his face closer to Demyx's, after putting a finger on his forehead to ease the pressure of an oncoming headache "So…lemme get this straight. You're planning on panhandling?"

"No! Axel—" Demyx stood, carefully prying his beloved instrument from Axel's grasp. "I'm in a band, y'know…it's called Second Sight." The redhead quirked an eyebrow "Do you know how stupid that sounds?"

"Aw…Axeeeeeelllll…" The blond's face screwed up into a pout, but the fiery headed boy would have none of it. The blond gave out an aggravated cry "Well, it's better than making rolls of raw fish all day."

Axel smirked "At least I've got a pretty solid job. All you've got is that stupid banjo."

"Sitar!"

"Whatever!" Axel straightened his bandanna, "Anyway, You forced me to kick you out, and you know that." Demyx laughed as his eyebrows came together in mock pity "No, no, Axel. It was _you_ who forced _me_ out. How could I forget, the poorly aimed hairdryer at my _beautiful_ face!"

Axel raised up a hand "Wait, wait, wait…_before_ or _after_ I threw my chakrams at you?"

Demyx exhaled, a strand of hair catching on the breath. "Details, _shmetails_. And weren't they supposed to be decretive weapons _anyway_?"

"Not really, from the way they managed to catch you on the wall by your boxers."

"Oh yeah…" Demyx raised his eyes to the ceiling, then glared back down at Axel "Hey…that really hurt. Glad I was too swift for that blow dryer though…"

Axel chewed the inside of his cheek nonchalantly, deadpanning "…I was meaning to aim for your crotch, dumbass." Demyx's face turned a shade brighter than his friend's hair. "Y'know…I _really_ should get a restraining order against you." Axel sighed "You won't have to unless you show up at my door, playing that stupid…guitar."

"It's a SITAR! 'Got it memorized?'" Demyx mockingly tapped the side of his head, after mimicking Axel's voice. "S-I-T-A-ow! My hair!"

Axel pulled on the back of Demyx's mullet, hard. The blond squirmed, his eyes pinching closed, then opening as some of the pain had subsided. Axel stared down into Demyx's eyes. A wicked grin sprawled quickly on his face "Using my phrases, are we?"

Roxas tried to suppress a chuckle, finding it was easier to turn it into a cough, as he rolled back against the wall. He squeezed his eyes shut and grasped both hands at his mouth, hoping he wouldn't be discovered.

"You know…this pose is kinda semi-erot—I mean…inappropriate…". The boy craned his head back, just enough to see what was going on. Axel's eyes were still locked with Demyx's; a mixture of shame and annoyance crossing the sushi chef's features.

Demyx smirked, teasing fingers crawling underneath the collar of Axel's shirt. The red head looked at him in mere confusion, as he did so. "Maybe so…but not unless I do…" Demyx closed the space between himself and his ex-roommate, his lips dangerously close to the other's neck.

"Wait…what're you…"Axel's eyes slipped closed gently, an audible sigh escaping deep from his throat. His head rolled back slightly. Demyx chuckled, as his own lids became heavy with unspoken desire "…this…"

Roxas felt his breath hitch as he watched Demyx lace intricate kisses along the skin of Axel's throat. The red head moaned quietly, brow knit back, lips parted. Demyx let a muffled chuckle into one of his kisses, as he felt Axel shudder against him. Axel's own arms seemed reluctant, yet slid gently around the sitarit's waist, the grip on his hair remaining. Roxas looked away, feeling the blood rushing to his face. He wished he hadn't when he heard Demyx half moan Axel's name, yet he couldn't muster enough courage to look back on the intense scene.

"…mmmm…oh…that feels sooooooowwwWWHAT THE FUCK?" Axel's jade eyes snapped open, flinging Demyx off him; the moment now broken. The sushi chef glared at the amused musician, a hand quickly coming to rest on the seat of his pants. "You…you're sick! I shouldn't have even let you touch me in the first place!—"Axel glanced back at his hand "—That really hurt too…"

Demyx, removing himself from the door of a locker, smirked derisively. "Oh, but you liked it, didn't you?"

"Not until you shoved your fucking hand down the back of my pants."

"_Buuuuuut_, you still _liked _it…" Demyx taunted, his lips curling further.

"Jerk…" Axel huffed, straightening himself out, and plunked down on a bench. "…besides…don't you have Zexion now?"

"…Well…you were always more fun…" Demyx sat next to him, nuzzling Axel's shoulder as a desperate cat would for attention. Roxas saw a hurt expression come to the redhead's face, as if something deeper had rended the two apart. A burst of envy seered through his flayed nerves, as Demyx slinked an arm around Axel's waist loosely.

"Knock it off, Demyx." Axel shrugged the musician away from him, scooting further across the bench. The blond let out a whine, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away "What happened to the old Axel I knew?"

"He's saner now, thank you very much."

Demyx and Axel both suddenly noted a strange presence emanating from the doorway. They found Roxas staring at them in awe. Axel paled as did Demyx, although, soon after, the musician was laughing hysterically. Roxas' face was now the shade of Axel's hair. "Uhm…I uh…wondered what—I mean…I…I wanted to fill out my application and…uhm…uh…I'm really, _really_, sorry, so…uh…I'll be going now…" Roxas was almost out of the visage of the doorway

"Roxas! Wait!"

Roxas paused before turning around to see a slightly concerned Axel. The red head nervously looked around, quickly licking his lips as he did so. He finally grabbed Roxas by the shoulder and led him back in the locker room. Demyx was still off in a corner, his hand stifling choked laughter, tears streaming down his face.

"Don't mind him" Axel gave Demyx the eye of death, which certainly made the blond musician laugh considerably less, yet the words were meant for Roxas.

"…Listen…Axel…I'm really—"

"Roxas, it's alright…" Axel ran a clammy hand through his bright, red hair, as he sat down on one of the benches, his forearms resting against his legs; back hunched. "I've just got one question for you."

"…yeah?" Roxas nervously looked around the room. Everywhere, but _his_ eyes.

"Would you like to join us in a ménage-a-trois?" Demyx started up his annoying laughter again. Axel was across the room, grabbing the sitarist by his hair, again, in an instant. Demyx cried out in pain, both of his hands flying to the back of his head.

"Demyx…that is _enough_!" Axel gave Roxas a brief glance before marching the pained musician out the door, and back to the sushi bar. Roxas followed, renewing the tissue at his lip. Axel rounded the corner, and was heading for the door, Demyx's hair still in his grip.

"…Axel…what the _hell _are you doing?" Axel craned his neck to meet a perplexed Marulxia. The other sushi chef's gaze fell on a nervously grinning Demyx. "Demyx? Shit, dude! What're you doing here!"

"Hi, Mar…what's up?" The sitarist said through gritted teeth. Axel let him go with a sigh, and Demyx rubbed the back of his head mouthing several obscenities. Axel flicked several golden strands from his fingers, and the musician gasped, a hand rushing to the back of his head. He then glared at the red head, who was currently formulating various ways of how to destroy his Sitar. Marluxia quirked an eyebrow then looked back to the distraught musician.

"Enh…not too much." The light brown haired sushi chef blinked in surprise as he caught sight of Roxas. "Woah, what happened to the kid?"

Kid! He wasn't a kid! He was—

"Uh…chair attack…"

"What?"

"Never mind." Axel placed the application on the bar and looked apologetically at Roxas. The bed-headed blond locked gazed with Axel's momentarily. _Was he…blushing?_ "Sorry about all of that. Just fill this out." Marluxia grinned as Roxas carefully assumed a seat next to Demyx. "Oh great! More help!"

"You'd better be careful when working for Axel—" Roxas quickly exchanged glanced with Demyx as he returned to the application "—he can be quite the task master."

"Since _when_ were you asked to open your mouth?" Axel snapped, green eyes blazing. For several moments, the loud scratching of a pen was heard. It was Marluxia's turn to break the silence.

"So…Demyx. How's the band coming?"

Demyx grinned, a tinge of pink came across the bridge of his nose. Axel looked like he was about to retch as he shot a distinct glower in Maluxia's direction. "Well…not too badly. I've got a drummer and a bassist. Cloud Strife and Leon Lionheart."

"You mean _the_ Cloud Strife? Jeeze! Wasn't he with _Pyrokenisis_ for a while?" The brown haired sushi chef looked highly intrigued, yet his scarlet haired counterpart could have cared less.

"Done." Roxas rubbed a hand across his brow, after sliding the paper across the bar to Axel. The redhead began looking it over, chewing on the end of the pen that Roxas was using. His gaze became pensive after writing several things in, while the other sushi chef and the musician chattered about the bands of yore.

"Man! Can Rude play that bass or what? It's fucking incredi—Axel…what are you doing?"

Axel looked up into brown eyes and shrugged "…nothing…"

"If you're going to change anything, I'll tell Xemnas…"

"Oh no you won't…"

"Ooooh yes I will"

Axel sighed as he quirked an eyebrow "If I were holding a knife in my hand, would you respond in the same way? Because I know some of those sushi knives are pretty damn sharp"

"Who's behind the bar, Axel?"

"…Fuck you."

Roxas looked over his shoulder, and quirked an eyebrow at several things that he saw on the page "Wait…I don't know how to operate a cash register…"

Axel quickly capped the pen, and then over his work "Well…you do now. Marluxia, why don't you show Roxas around while I take this upstairs."

"But, Axel…"

"No buts. And you—" Green eyes flashed in Demyx's direction "—If you move, this is the last time you'll be seeing your guitar."

"For the last time! It's a SITAR!" Demyx sat forward, an annoyed glare precipating from him.

"WHATEVER!"

--------------------------------

AN: When I was writing this ('specially during the short Demyx/Axel bit, I was listening to "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo (really weird band name, I know)). If it helps "enhance" the experience…I would suggest it, however, if you don't like 80's New Wave, then I wouldn't recommend it. I know it's not supposed to be a Demyx/Axel fic…but…I just couldn't resist…they're just so damn cute! And I _did _say there would be a little bit of Demyx in there, right? Don't worry AkuRoku fans, your time will come.


	4. Hired! And the Jenova Gang

AN: You know what really irritates me? That in the character listing bar they don't have Demyx _or_ Roxas. I mean…if there's lots of fics written about them, why aren't they on there! I don't get it. Thanks for having patience.

Like always…Squizzy pwns (I think we get the idea --;;) I also don't own Yazoo, Loz, or Kadaj.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi, Shounen-ai, Saix-bashing…the usual…

By the way…this Chapter is dedicated to **Chigai. **

Chapter Four: Hired! and the Jenova Gang

Marluxia shook his head and looked pitifully at Roxas. He gave Axel an evil glare, but Axel merely smirked back while walking, nearly colliding with a wall. The brown haired sushi chef sighed "Sorry. He gets like this every now and then." Roxas followed Marluxia, after waiving a short salute to Demyx, who merely gave him a cat like grin.

Marluxia led him over to the receptionists' desk and began talking Roxas through the process of casheeing when suddenly, a slender hand tapped on the desk. Both Marluxia and Roxas looked up. And this was the first time that Roxas had seen the brown haired sushi-chef go pale.

Blue hair, yet it seemed a natural shade, fell slightly past his shoulders and a strange 'X' like scar remained on his forehead. He donned the same uniform as well, yet there was no bandanna.

"Showing how business operates to customers, are we, Marluxia?" His voice was clear cut and cold. Marluxia eyes narrowed slightly. "He's applying here for a job, Saix." The brown haired chef said pointedly.

"Indeed." Saix let a coy grin placate across his lips. Roxas felt his breath hitch in his throat as the violet eyed gaze seered across him. Though he barely knew the guy, he could almost see the words "EVIL" written across his face in bright neon letters.

"Hey, Marluxia! What's taking you…so…" Roxas turned to Axel. Lavender gazed into green. Axel looked at the floor "Saix…what're you doing here?"

"Have you forgotten? I do work here, you know." Saix's lips remained in an unmoving line. Axel grimaced.

"Well, you don't really do much around here anyway…"

Saix made a sudden noise as if he had been poked with a stick. He glowered at Axel, who had a nervous smile sweep slowly across his lips. Saix cleared his throat as he looked over at Roxas "One of your prodegies?"

Axel raised an eyebrow "His _name's_ Roxas, and he's applying for a job."

Saix turned back to Roxas, who looked rather mortified "…is that so?"

Marluxia nodded, "Yep, just filled out an application." The light brown haired sushi chef shot Axel a dirty look; the red head just widened his eyes in confusion as he shrugged.

"Roxas, is it?" Saix raised an eyebrow at the blond, who nodded quickly. Roxas caught a quick glance of Axel, who seemed to be quite angry at that particular moment. Roxas looked quickly back to Saix, who now had a sly grin on his face. The blond almost felt naked as the smile seemed to rove over every part of his body.

"I think I have something for you to do."

-----------------------------

It was simple enough, or at least it was in Roxas' mind.

Posting flyers around Twilight Town wasn't exactly his idea of fun, yet it paid pretty well. His new superior, Saix, had given him a rather large stack of posters and instructed him to post them over _anything_ (well, maybe not anything, but it was damn close to it, considering his explanation). He just had to be back by four, which gave him a good two hours. It would be a cake job.

As he was walking down the street that lead to the Tram Common, slowly posting the flyers as he went, he suddenly remembered what Axel had said when he left.

"_Hey, Roxas?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Look. I know I shouldn't be yammering my mouth off like this behind people's backs, because it's a dirty thing to do—"_

"_Just…speak your mind, Axel."_

"_Be careful. Saix can be a cruel guy at times…He's just weird like that."_

"_Okay…I will"_

"_Seriously, Roxas. I'm not joking, and I—I mean…none of us would want to see you _

_hurt."_

"_I'll watch my back, Axel. Don't worry."_

"…_Alright…"_

Roxas found himself close to the back ally. It had been nearly a half hour since he last left. He was nearly half done with his large stack of flyers, and, as he was posting one on the side of a building, something wet and cold landed on the back of his hand. He looked up at the darkening sky

Rain.

Roxas cursed under his breath, knowing that most of his hard work would be soaked. _At least people'll be able to read it_. He sighed and headed towards the direction of the sandlot, when he felt something heavy on his shoulder. Definitely _not_ a rain drop.

Roxas looked up and his eyes widened, the flyer in his hand dropped to the ground. His eyes met with sea-green ones. A hard grin was set in the man's face. The black leather contrasted well with his short, slicked back hair and long side-burns. He tried not to wince when he saw the strange implement on the man's arm.

"Hey, Kadaj…Yazoo. Look what I found."

Two more silver haired youths appeared, donning similar attire to that of their counterpart. Roxas then registered who they were, by rumor, his stomach soon turning cold.

_The Jenova Gang!_

The boy ripped from the grasp of the other Gang member, his heart suddenly acceleating, but he was too fast and pushed him to the ground; knees cracking on cement. Roxas gave out a mixed cry of surprise and pain, feeling shock emanate up his spine. Suddenly dizzy, he saw a pair of black leather boots cross into view. A cruel laugh stemmed from above. Roxas managed just to keep the boots within view.

"Oh, pity. A stray. Let me see your face" Roxas saw the man crouch, yet still refused to look into his eyes. A rough gloved hand forced his head upwards, and he saw the same sea-green like he had previously. "Strays should do what they're told."

"What do you want?" Roxas gritted his teeth, the rain suddenly picking up pace.

"It's simple." The third member finally spoke, his face blank of any emotion. Suddenly the force on his shoulders increased. Roxas winced again, his head declining in pain. He thought someone said his name, yet didn't bother to look up. A sharp crack burned across his face, and he tasted the warm, metallic of blood. He spat it out, his eyes tearing in pain. That earned him another slap across the face, and more blood poured into his mouth. He gagged on the warmth, wanting to get away from them. "It's rude to spit." The voice in front of him grinned.

"What do you guys _want_?" Roxas asked again, this time more urgent, as he felt the rain soak his clothing.

"Your munny of course." The large man pushed him into the concrete again.

"I…don't…have…any" Roxas just barely managed to keep himself on his knees. A sigh and a laugh came from in front of him again. "Loz…". Roxas felt himself uprooted from the ground and slammed into a nearby wall, his feet dangling several inches from the ground. His shoulder blades crushed against the wall; his upper back screamed at him. He looked into sea-green again; it was the only place to look.

"It's also rude to lie…" The man with shoulder length, silver hair advanced slowly, and ran a hand down his face. Roxas turned his head away quickly, and noticed a different presence coming from his tormenters. "…Alright, Loz…let's take teach him a lesson."

"Aw…but, Kadaj. I was just beginning to have fun with him!" Loz whined, the grip on Roxas' shirt not giving up.

"Don't worry, brother. We're still going to have quite a bit of fun with him yet…"

Roxas felt a sudden fist catch him in his stomach, underneath his solar plexus. All of his air felt sucked from his body. The hand that was holding him let him fall back to the pavement, and Roxas felt the world spinning as he sucked in air, clutching desperately at his throat. Black spots danced in his vision, as his body screamed at him. A sudden boot slammed under the spot that had just been pummeled. Roxas cried out, arching his back on the ground, the pain becoming too much.

The welcoming darkness found him soon enough.

----------------------

Roxas awoke to find four terrible things; one, every nerve in his body screamed; two, it was five thirty; three, his messenger bag was missing; and four, he was soaking wet and it was _still_ raining. It took him several minutes and the help of a drain pipe to stand up. Roxas caught himself again on the drain pipe, battered and bruised. Suddenly, a blinding pain flared in his side. His stomach was in knots due to two reasons; one Saix was going to _kill _him; and two, he probably swallowed too much blood when The Jenova Gang was roughing him up.

_Saix'll understand what happened when I come back, don't worry_.

Roxas held on to this small gleam of hope as he hobbled down the rain saturated streets of Twilight Town. Not many of the town's denizens were out and about, and those that were either ignored him or gave him strange looks. It wasn't long before he made it to Sushi Thirteen, sliding the door open, gritting his teeth in pain. The once nice air conditioner blasted his form with cold air, sending him into a fit of shudders. Not many customers were inside either; he desperately looked for help.

"Roxas?" The blond turned at the voice. Green eyes widened with shock, and Roxas collapsed to the floor, not caring any more that his body was still screaming at him. "Oh my…god…" Axel's voice.

Hands lifted him, and he felt something warm underneath him. _Probably Axel's legs_. He thought blearily. The redhead's arms were around Roxas, holding him. The blond thought that he would never see the sushi chef in such worry again. "Roxas…what happened?"

"The…Jenova Gang…I couldn't…"

"_What_ is going _on _here?" The same cold voice from before Roxas' poster run: Saix.

"Axel. What on earth—"

Axel turned and looked up at lavender eyes, his own narrowed to menacing slits. "Give him a break, will ya? He's just been clobbered by the Jenova Gang."

Saix sighed heavily "Well, its his own damn fault for running into them. He should've been more careful."

"How could you be so fucking—"

A gasp sounded close from Saix. The blond saw Namine, with a hand at her mouth, her blue eyes wide. Axel looked pleadingly to her.

"Alright, I want this cleaned up before any more customers arrive. Get to it!" Saix turned on a heel and left as Namine bent down, looking concernidly at Roxas. "How…?"

"I'll explain later. Get some medical supplies to the back room. I'll meet you there." Axel nodded at the girl as she nodded in return, gave Roxas one more look before leaving across the street to buy said supplies. Green turned back to blue. "Can you walk?"

Roxas paused to think this over, and the red head 'tsked' as he reached both arms underneath him, one at his neck, one underneath the crook of his knees. He felt himself being lifted, the sudden jerk of motion making him wince. Axel looked ahead "Let's get you out of here."

They passed a thin man with dark silver hair covering one eye, that eye soon widening in shock at the appearance of Roxas. "Axel. What—"

"Don't worry about it, Zexion."

Roxas, beneath waning lids, saw a door being opened, and suddenly, felt himself being gently laid down on a somewhat hard surface. Axel took off the shirt that he was wearing as a jacket and placed it over Roxas. He sat at the edge of the table, and laughed ironically. "Jeeze…you honestly get yourself into quite a bit of trouble, 'specially today."

Roxas smiled faintly. He couldn't help but admit that, yes, he felt _more_ than relieved when Axel rushed to his side, and even more so when he carried him _like that_ to the back room.

No! No…it was _considerate _of him to do that. He could have just left Roxas on the floor, bleeding to death, and howling in painHe was a good friend to have.

Namine entered, her arms full with a white plastic bag, and a fluffy, pink blanket. Axel quirked an eyebrow "Where'd you find that?"

"In Vexen's locker…"

"And how'd you get in there…_sneak_?"

Namine's pretty face became more adorable when she pouted "I'm _not_ a sneak…and Vexen gave it to me when he saw that I had all the medical supplies, after I explained the situation."

Axel looked at Roxas, then to the medical supplies that Namine had bought. He placed the blanket underneath the blond's head. Roxas' bristled pleasantly at the sudden contact of Axel's hand through his hair, and then suddenly more so as his hand slid to his back. "Sit up." Was all that he said.

Roxas, with the help of the red head, sat up. Axel pulled at the zipper of Roxas' jacket, pulling off him. Roxas' stomach tightened as the red head reached for his shirt. "W-what are you doing!"

Both Axel and Namine blinked at the sudden outburst, Axel broke the silence "Uh…We have to see if you really damaged anything underneath—or do you feel better if you—"

"No! I mean…no…it's alright…I just…uh…"

Axel ignored the boy's excuses, as he pulled Roxas' shirt over his head. Roxas tried to hide his burning face as he watched Axel's green eyes inspect his chest, and watched as they settled lower, then back up again. They seemed filled with hatred, and Roxas thought he knew why, but didn't care to speculate any more. His face turned even more red when he was broken from his thoughts by Axel's hands roving over his bare skin that burned.

"Does this hurt?" Axel looked from Roxas' side to his face. Roxas found himself staring into those emerald depths. Was _he_ blushing too? Roxas then was rudely awaked as a stape of pain ended the moment. He hissed in pain, and suddenly, the pressure alleviated. Roxas' eyes opened as they received a rather apologetic look from the sushi chef. "Sorry…"

"S'okay…"

"Yep…that's gonna bruise…Lemme look at your back." Roxas scooted forward, and at that moment, noticed that Namine had slipped from the room. Roxas suddenly felt Axel's hands gently brushing against his back. "Jeeze…they really got you bad…"

"…yeah…" Roxas shuddered as the pleasurable and sensual feelings ebbed through his body, then inwardly frowned as Axel got up, and started rummaging though the plastic bag. "Ah hah! Smart girl." He produced a rather large brown bottle, and resumed his seat behind Roxas. The blond quirked an eyebrow "What's that?"

"Ointment that'll help your back. It gets rid of bruises pretty quickly, so I might put some on your chest too…"

Roxas flared up again at the mention and thought of Axel's hands rubbing over his body again. He hugged his knees, and buried his face in them. Axel laughed as he opened the bottle, and poured some of the ointment into a cupped hand "You're just too…priceless…"

Roxas turned around, eyes widening. "_What!"_

"Can't a man speak his mind?" Axel smirked. Roxas turned around again, feeling more stupid than anything, and then melted at the mixture of cool and warm on his bare skin. Roxas found the silence unexpectedly suffocating. _Well, he _did _save your life. Might as well get to know him_. "So…uhm…How do you know Demyx?"

The hands stopped for a moment, and Roxas regretted asking the question. However, the movements continued down to his lower back, and Roxas bit back a gasp, burying his head further into his knees.

"We're old…roommates of sorts. We met back several years ago, four I think, at some club.—" He chuckled, his breath tickling Roxas' back, making him suddenly twitch. Axel, gratefully, didn't seem to notice "—I was with Marluxia at the time. He said that there was this great band that he wanted me to hear. Can't really remember the name of the band, but they were really good, 'specially Demyx. He played the guitar at the time…"

Axel stopped, and Roxas noticed that perhaps he had hit a nerve of some sort. "I'm…sorry that I asked."

"No…it's okay…I-I have a question for you…"

Roxas straightened his back, then suddenly melted again as gentle, yet dexterous fingers massaged the back of his neck. "…Only...fair to ask…I guess."

He felt Axel even hesitate. "How…how long were you there. At the doorway?"

Roxas suddenly felt the newly lived memory make his stomach clench and flutter. Axel's knit brow. Demyx jawline close. Kisses. Breath…

"Uhm…well…Axel."

Axel laughed, as he brought himself around the blond's side, Roxas faced him, still having a guilty plastered to his face. "Hey…it's alright. You don't have to look like _that_. I'm not gonna kill you or anything."

Roxas twitched, then the red head laughed as he returned to Roxas' back. "…Well…I…I was there the entire time…and…" Roxas felt a gentle breeze of air across his back; Axel's smile. "…You guys weren't _just_ roommates, were you?"

Axel's fingers caught at his sides, and Roxas stiffened, as an unexpected laugh jumbled out of him. "You're ticklish?" Axel smirked, pausing for only Roxas to calm again, before lashing out with his fingers again. Roxas couldn't suppress his laughter as he squirmed, yet the red head still managed to hold him in his grip. "Hey! I'm—I'm--ha!—wounded here! No…ha ha ha!...fair! You're gonna kill me!" Roxas suddenly felt the fingers stop, a sigh emenating from Axel.

"Well, they say that laughter is the best medicine."

"Even if you're battered, and bruised?"

"_Even_ if you're battered or bruised." Axel removed his hands from Roxas' back. "Well…that about does it. You might have trouble sleeping tonight, but you'll be fine in the morning." Roxas watched Axel return to the other side of the table, grabbing a cloth and wiping his hands on it.

"Axel…"

The red head looked up, green eyes inquisitive "Hm?"

"Thanks…for what you did."

Axel smiled, a hand gravitating towards the blonds hair, ruffling it slightly. "Hey, no problem. I did what I had to. Besides…I couldn't have just left you bleeding in the front of the restaurant. How else are we going to get customers?" Roxas smiled, feeling a bit more comfortable with the sushi chef. Axel, after returning the smile, checked the time piece on his slender wrist.

"Well…It's six already. Why don't you get ready, I'll take you home."

Roxas' eyes widened raising both hands and waiving them back and forth emphatically. _What if Olette and the others see me? _Especially _Olette? Gah! I'm dead meat!...Crap! What'll my parents think!_ "What! Axel, you don't need to do that! I'll be fine. I can walk home!"

Axel quirked an eyebrow "You can't be serious. It's raining like a banshee out there, and you're going to walk home in that, while you're injured, _and _run the risk of bumping into The Jenova Gang again? I'm driving you home. And that's final."

Roxas sighed heavily. Yes, he was right, but he didn't want to be seen. His friends would think that he's interested in guys, or something, and his parents would totally flip if they saw what condition he was in.

"You okay?" Roxas' eyes snapped open to meet Axel's puzzled ones. The red head laughed, "Jeeze. Not only do you get in trouble, but you space out a lot."

"Do _not_!" Roxas pouted as Axel laughed again.

"Meet you out front, alright?"

Roxas sighed as the door shut. He wasn't too sure he could handle this. He grabbed for his shirt and jacket, which were, for the most part, dry. There had to be some way for him to stop liking Axel, and somehow, someway, he would find it.

----------------------------------------

AN: Another long one! Shmee. Speaking on the matters of the sitar, if you ever get a chance to hear Ravi Shankar playing said instrument, please do. It's so beautiful; that's how I imagine Demyx playing (As for singing, check out Placebo…specifically Second Sight on Sleeping with Ghosts). I was going to post this last night, but wasn't able to (sigh) well…it's up now, yeah? Music notes: A lot of this was written to Sheila Chandra, an Indie pop star…


	5. Blonds are More Fun

AN: Sorry I haven't updated in a while (slaps back of hand). Surgery-ness has got me down, and Silent Hill 4 is taking over my life (though I really don't like the game at all). So yeah…Tonight, I got mad that people weren't updating their fics. So _I_ thought, that if I updated mine, people would update theirs! (and I'm looking at you AbnormallyWierdPerson, and Chigai, yessirriebub.) cough SO. It might suck, but I will have my lovely beta, Chigai scan this over with her marvelous reading skills, and see what she can help me with…so…sit back…have a muffin (or tea cake, if it makes you feel better) and enjoy.

Warnings: language, Shounen-ai, Yaoi…yadda yadda yadda

Chapter Five: Blonds are more fun

Roxas creaked the door open, hoping that Saix wouldn't see him anymore tonight. He'd already had enough trouble with the blue haired superior. He gritted his teeth, and tried remembering _why_ Axel had talked him into taking him home. Well…yes…he had perfectly _good _reasons, but it wasn't fair. He could just see Olette now, a smirk on her face "Hey! Who's the cute boy you brought back? You guys are _really _adorable together!"

And what would Pence and Hayner think! Roxas felt guilt claw at his stomach as he swung his jacket over his shoulder. They would think that he would try to get into their pants or…something. Roxas ran his free hand over his face. _Why are things so fucking complicated! Ever since I walked in this place I…ugh…_

"Oh…Zexy…don'tstop…mmm…"

"….Demmmmxmmmph…"

Roxas froze as he found himself staring at Demyx and the dark silver haired man from earlier, when Axel had carried him into the back room. The both of them were deeply locked in a heavy, lust-defying kiss. "Silver Hair" had Demyx shoved up against a wall, an arm entirely wrapped around his waist, his hips grinding into Demyx's. The blond sitarist moaned deeply and responded in kind. Though, to Roxas, it looked vaguely like they were both trying to eat each others faces off, it was somewhat alluring. He couldn't tear his eyes away, as Demyx ran his hands down "Silver Hair's" back, resting on the seat of his pants, pushing him closer.

…_Is this gonna happen _EVERY _time I walk somewhere in this freakin' restaurant? Because if it is, I'm quitting…_

"Goddammit, Demyx! You are being _such _a whore tonight!" Roxas noticed the familiar drawl resonate from behind him, a slender hand falling on his shoulder. He turned to see Axel, his vibrant green eyes blazing. He had changed from his uniform, donning a worn leather jacket, and a faded yellow shirt with some band logo on it. He had a bag slung over his shoulder, grinning wryly. "Besides…I think Roxas has seen enough of you snogging other people tonight."

_Wow! He looks so…cool…_

Demyx and "Silver Hair" broke away instantly. Though Roxas couldn't see his face, he could see a noticeable blush on the silver haired man's face. Demyx just smiled, a nervous hand rubbing the back of his head. "Hiya, Axel!"

The redhead glowered at the blond, who, currently, was removing himself from the wall and pulling his faded red shirt down, covering an exposed, lank side. "Just _like_ you to act like nothing's happened."

"How rude!" Demyx pulled at the ends of his shirt, his face settling into a pout. Roxas noted how Zexion didn't want to deal with the current conversation.

Axel merely grunted in response. "And how about you, Zexion. Shouldn't you be working now?"

The man known as Zexion brushed his hair away from his face. "…Well…I…"

"C'mon, Zexy! You don't have to take that kind of tone from Axel!" Demyx turned to Axel, a childish pout crossing his features, as he wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's shoulder. "Leave him alone, Axel! You can be so _unfeeling _sometimes!"

"_Unfeeling_! Y-You're the one that's unfeeling! You…" Axel lowered his head and clenched his jaw tightly. Roxas felt an abrupt, mixedpang of pity and guilt for the red head. _Axel…what happened between you_?

"Hah! You can't even say it! You're just jealous that Zexy and I started off so well, while you've got no one to run to!" Demyx's azure eyes flared. Roxas could nearly feel Axel burning with rage, and there was some other feeling buried there too; something that he had locked away which decided to escape. Roxas pondered at Axel's unexpected silence.

Zexion began talking in quieted words to Demyx, who was looking very much like a sulking a high school girl at that pronounced moment. Roxas clenched his jaw as he turned to the enraged red head. A hand was to his face, his other arm twisted around his lank form, unconsciously clutching his side.

"What's wrong, Axel?" Demyx taunted as Zexion tried to shush him "Cat got your—"

"_You're just a lying bastard that can't take responsibility for anything_!"

All three jumped at the sudden outburst as the sushi chef shoved past them, Roxas pausing only to vocally gasp as he passed them, running after Axel.

The back door slammed hard as Axel pressed through. Roxas threw his own jacket on, pushing the aged, metal door open. Axel was walking towards his car quickly, his shoes crunching the gravel around them. He turned around sharply, a hand over his face, then back again, sharply cursing. He finally came to rest, standing in front of his car. Roxas watched his head slowly sink, and his shoulders finally give. _Was he crying_? He didn't deny a feeling that erupted in his heart; he wanted nothing more than to comfort Axel.

Roxas, as he slowly crunched his way forward, watched as Axel quickly composed himself, and turned around, an easy smile cutting across his face. The blond still felt that pang, yet it didn't lift as he thought it would when he saw Axel's face.

"So…uh…you ready?"

"Uhm…yeah…I guess so…" Roxas peered into Axel's face concernedly, though the red head did not seem to notice as he swept his lean figure into the car, the car door thumping shut. It wasn't like Axel to be this, despite he had only known him for so long. It seemed, though, that he had known the redhead much longer than a mere day. His mind drifted back to Demyx and Zexion, and the look splayed across Axel's face, or at least the slender hand was hiding said expression from view. He could obviously tell that something strange hand happened between the two, he'd had to have been the most dull person on the planet to not have recognized that. Yet, _what_ exactly transpired between them was still a bit of a mystery. Asking Axel directly during his ride home might earn him a quick stop and forceful shove to the pavement, and he didn't quite want that. Perhaps there was some way that he could coerce the answer from him. But he didn't want to do anything that Axel would hesitate to. Yet…it was a nagging thorn in his mind…

"Enjoying the rain, are we?" Axel raised an eyebrow as he mockingly glared at Roxas. He hadn't realized that his hand was still wrapped around the door handle, the cool kiss of rain awakening him from his thoughts. "Oh! Sorry…" He pulled the car door open and whisked himself in, slamming it closed.

"Hey, hey…careful! Don't get water everywhere, this car cost me a fortune."

-----------------------------------

Roxas slid the door open, to Sushi Thirteen, letting a wrist cross his brow. The heat drained from his body when he felt the air conditioning encase his body. Processed air filled his nostrils, among the other different rich smells wafting from the kitchen. He breathed a sigh of relief, slinging his borrowed messenger bag from his shoulder, tiredly plopping down into a chair at the bar. Last night wasn't as bad as he had originally imagined. He managed to clear the distance from Axel's car to his door, and even was able to leave in time for a lengthy goodbye without a hitch .

Yet the expression on his mother's face when he entered the door was incredible. He nearly wasn't able to go to work again because of her mindless ranting and ravings. He had reminded her that he would stay in the restaurant and not leave for any more poster or delivery runs, but the chances of that were slim. Although Marluxia's "What they don't know, can't hurt 'em" was slightly helpful, had it not been dashing across the street, and playing incognito when catching sight of his father leaving work. If he was sighted, his mother would have torn him limb from limb, and Roxas _liked_ being intact.

His blue eyes sleepily grazed at the blonde wood floor, which soon were occupied by two white shoes. Roxas slowly looked up, his gaze catching two thin legs, a white dress covered by a black apron. Light blond hair framed her face and light cerulean eyes stared inquisitively into his own. As their eyes met, a smile flitted across her lips. "Hey, Roxas. Did the poster run wear you out?"

"Yeah, I don't know how many Saix'll have me run today. It's like I'm his pet dog or something…" Roxas smiled as Namine giggled. "Saix _will_ do that. Especially to new employees..." She sighed, her eyes suddenly becoming distant.

"Aw, Namine. It's better that you shove razor blades into your head than think about Saix." Roxas looked up to see the grinning red head, dipping his hands into a bowl filled with water. Roxas cleared his throat, nervously looking about for his superior. Namine smiled and then sighed as she took a seat next to Roxas "It's not easy to think about him with that long, blue hair of his. And his _ears_…he's like a…like an elf or something…" It was now Axel's turn to chuckle. "Touche." Roxas leaned against the bar, helplessly yawning. Green eyes darted to him "Roxas, why're you tired? You just went on a freakin' poster run." Roxas' eyes lazily traced over Axel's face "Something happened…and…and I should have been more careful."

Axel looked worried for a moment as he flattened out the nori sheet on the mat, "Did the Jenova gang…"

"No! No…it's just…it's stupid…" Roxas sighed heavily, not wanting to reveal the plight with his family. Marluxia, newly arrived, shook his head while smiling "Axel…just leave it alone. I'm sure he's alright."

"But what if…"

"Oh relax, fish-boy. A lot of the people that work here have crazy pasts. I'm sure you'd know that by now." Axel looked up at the new voice and glowered heavily. "Now is not the time, Larxene." Roxas turned to face the smirking blond woman, two strange strips of her hair stood on end. _Wonder how they got that way…_

"When _isn't _it the time, Axel.—" She leaned over the counter, mock pouting "—Are you just insecure because everything I do is right and you're always—"

"Why don't you stop acting like a child and shut the hell up." Axel snapped, bringing his face inches from hers. Larxene paused, then smirked "Who's the child, Axel? Besides—" She pulled away leaning against the bar, looking Roxas up and down. The gaze made the boy feel highly intimidated, as cerulean grinned between rimmed lids. "--I wouldn't want to give the boy the wrong impression."

"He's got a name, you know." Axel sighed, placing ingredients on the rice. "It's Roxas…"

"Seems like you've got a thing for blonds, Axel. I don't blame you." Larxene's grin made Roxas look at Axel, who suddenly was at a stand still, his face completely and utterly red. He tried composing himself by throwing himself more into his work "Larxene…why don't you go bother someone else?"

"So…it's Roxas, right?" Larxene purred, completely ignoring the currently annoyed Axel. Roxas, cringed inwardly, hoping he wouldn't bust a gasket. The blond then shifted his gaze to her, trying not to stare at her strange antennae like hairstyle and merely nodded. She leaned up against the bar, the proximity between them was uncomfortably close, so much so for Roxas' liking. "Who're you working for?"

"Us, _obviously_." Axel stabbed, glowering heavily at her. Larxene grimaced, turning towards him, which; Roxas noticed, could have made milk curdle. "First timers _always _have superiors, so—" She turned back to the blond quickly before Axel could say another word "Who're you working under."

The boy licked his lips nervously. He felt like a caged animal, with those strange aquamarine eyes boring holes into his own. "…S-saix…"

"No wonder you're so nervous. Couldn't agree with you more." Larxene drew a breath through her teeth, shaking her head.

"Knock it off, Larxene. You shouldn't say things like that." Axel didn't even look up from the sushi he was currently cutting. She sighed chucking ironically "Always like you to add in a smart comment, yeah? Besides, I'm telling him the truth. Better for him to know about what happened then for him to find out the hard way."

"What're you talking about?" Roxas quirked an eyebrow, then felt a sick pang of fear as both Larxene and Axel turned to him, both looking rather guilty. Axel ran a wrist over his forehead, sighing heavily "Well…we had an employee last week—"

"--Who actually had your job…" Larxene grinned, staring at the floor. Axel opened his mouth to say something that included pummeling her against a wall, then, after regarding the expression on Roxas' face, decided against it. "—he…he left after working under Saix…we had no idea what happened…"

"Oh fine…don't tell him everything." Larxene said quietly, then turned back to Roxas "So…you'd best be careful when working for him…" The blond smiled maliciously "after all, we wouldn't want you dead on our hands, now would we?"

She sauntered away, leaving the both of them perplexed. Roxas clenched his jaw, then realized that he wasn't the only one who was highly aggravated. Axel was clutching the counter hard, gripping the knife in a white knuckled hand. "…you okay?"

"I'm fine…just gimme a minute…"

"What did she mean when she said 'don't tell him everything'?"

Roxas paled at the sudden look that Axel had thrown him. He had wished he had just kept his mouth shut. _Too late to take that back now_. Axel shook his head, concentrating on his work.

"…Nothing, Roxas. Don't ask about it again."

"Sorry…I…"

A black streak flew by Roxas, which found itself panting against the sushi bar. Roxas turned to see a boy about the same age as himself, gasping for breath. His dark blond hair stuck out every which way, sweat glistening against his forehead "Axel! I'm…I'm sorry I'm…"

"Late again?" Axel didn't look up from his work. "Sora, you've gotta be more careful. I can't have you walking—"

"Running" Marluxia grinned, seeming to have appeared from a void of some sort.

"—Whatever, in about an hour after."

Sora looked very desperate. "But Axel, please, my mom isn't –" Axel looked up his eyes becoming a mixture of wry apologetic. "Sora, why don't you go to the back room, I'll be there in a few minutes, alright?"

Sora nodded slowly, eyeing the two next to him.

Axel grinned "Besides, you can't make proper sushi if your hands aren't cold". Sora nodded again, trying to hide his face. Roxas felt an apologetic note stab at his heart. Was he crying? The boy quickly headed for the back room, slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder.

Roxas' gaze followed Sora and Axel as they both headed out of sight in the back room. Roxas almost regarded Sora with an envious eye, as a lank arm wrapped around the boy. Roxas clenched his jaw as he rent a hand through his blond hair. Yes, he admitted it. Maybe he _did _have feelings for Axel. But he couldn't let them grow any longer. He had to...somehow...suppress them. Something told him it wouldn't be easy, but he _had _to do it.

"Roxas?"

Somehow...something to distract him.

"Roxas...?"

Roxas' eyes flickered briefly before his eyes settled again on Namine. A curious look had settled on her features. She smiled, a slight pinkness had formed on the bridge of her nose. "You're normally quiet, but not _this _quiet. What's wrong."

_Bingo_.

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AN: Can't you tell that I totally half-assed this chapter? I seriously didn't know what to do. Oh well…at least it's up, and it's mindless fluff anyway. Anywhoway…let's see what Namine and Roxas do…X3, I will give you a hint though: Karaoke.


	6. Revisitations

AN: Sorry, guys. I intended this to come out sooner, but suddenly I now have internet, which obviously makes things easier to post and such. Things have been a bit harder to continue because I'm a bit lost and there are so many characters to keep in check (like…what I've used and what I haven't)…bah…okay, well…here tis ^^. I apologize if this is seemingly mindless drivel, but you all deserve something. And…it's something…T^T.

Chapter Six: Revisitations

Roxas adjusted his bandanna as he was finishing wiping a table down. It had been several hours since opening, and he was looking forward to his first night off. Roxas' sight rambled across for any other spare tables or chairs that had the occasional grain of rice caked with lint, the somewhat disgusting speck of now hardened wasabi that looked like it might have well belonged up someone's nose, or, his favorite, chewing gum stuck to the bottom of the tables. Though this was a relatively high end place, this miraculous event still occurred, and Roxas tried his best to ignore it. It was pretty easy to just scrape off with something like a coin and, if, of course, this amalgamed mass had hardened over. Yet some gum really just…stuck, and never really came off…ever…no matter what anyone did. Marluxia tried to impart more wisdom to Roxas once, when faced with this problem with a bottle of cleaner, only to have it worsen: it somehow grew stickier during a chemical change and somehow ended up in everyone's hair.

Specifically, today, this job did not annoy him. The news from the radio did not bother him about heavy rain this coming evening (although a thought of the Jenova Gang did cross his mind). Even when he chipped his nails at a sordid attempt to remove the three-day crusted gum, nary a brow furrowed. It was _that_ laugh that attacked his eardrums. That…sickeningly, innocent laugh that traced razorblades through his skull: he didn't notice it at first, it just eventually pricked him. He looked up at whom produced it: those overly cheerful blue eyes, that annoying brown hair that stuck out every which way. He desperately tried to be cute. Roxas' lip curled as he let his once-white-rag flop on the table. He had come to the agreement that Sora was the most annoying person he had come across. Sure, Hayner could be quite the pain. And so could Seifer and his gang of cronies. But Sora was the very top of the totem pole of annoyingness, like he tried…really hard.

It wasn't only that Sora was actually using his trachea today that annoyed Roxas. With a smirk and a slap of the cleaning rag, the blond thought _I wish he'd shut up. I mean, where's a sea-witch when you need one from…whatever that movie was…_It was rather whom the yappy dog was with. Those slender, yet strong hands, those strange teardrop tattoos. Those…eyes…

"—And then my dad totally wowed the corporate dinner with green tea mousse at the very last minute! He's just such an awesome guy…" Sora's laugh escaped him once again, and Roxas' molars ground against one another. It annoyed Roxas even further that he was given such a menial job by Saix, his overseer, while Sora was learning how to actually make sushi with Axel. Sure Sora's dad was probably a great sushi chef, but that didn't have to mean that he would be just as good. And Roxas had seniority…maybe not much, but he had been here longer hadn't he? He sighed as a current of jealousy rippled through him, then he tried shrugging it off. He was then relieved by Axel's laugh "Huh…I guess I'll have to try that sometime. Y'never know….what with the benefit dinner being tomorrow and all."

"Benefit dinner?" Sora and Axel looked in the direction of the blond, a bit surprised. Roxas had somewhat wished he hadn't opened his mouth in the first place as the green eyes grazed his figure.

"Uh, yeah. Didn't you hear about it? We've been talking about it for nearly…two weeks now." Axel gingerly cut sushi, seeming to take time and care at the desireable size of said piece. Roxas' brow furrowed. Two weeks? Maybe he'd been thinking too much about…he looked back up at the vibrantly, flame colored hair. Blue eyes lingered for a second too long and he cleared his throat as he went back to work, making sure to keep his eyes at the table. "Who's it for?"

Sora, happy to answer, chimed in, much to Roxas' dismay "Some film company, I think. They've been working pretty hard on stuff. I think they're called…Dizzy or something like that. –" The brunette looked upwards as he was finishing a roll "- Come to think of it, they were actually filming outside of our house yesterday. There was a really tall, creepy looking woman dressed in purple with horns on her head. Talk about special effects make-up! And there was also a really nicely dressed blond girl in a blue dress with a white apron and-"

The bell at the front rang, signaling the approach of a customer. Roxas just finished up the last table and the last gummy bit of pickled ginger to look up. A silver haired boy entered, appearing only slightly older than himself. His front hands were jammed into his pockets as he casually sauntered in. He seemed like he owned the place, but had enough grace to dismiss any notions that he was arrogant. Roxas noted the dual drumsticks poking out of his right back pocket.

Just at that moment, almost timed, Namine exited the back room with a stack of fresh menus to place behind the reception desk. Her eyes flicked up and her usual smile gently placated itself on her face. "Can I help you?"

"Uh…yeah…looking for a…Demyx?" The silver haired boy asked. Namine seemed to think a bit, then nodded as she started to head for the back "I think he's in. I'll go check, okay?"

"Thanks." Silver hair nodded then turned around. Roxas quickly averted eyes from the "customer" and pretended to go about pushing in chairs and such. Part of Roxas wanted to run up to him and begin to push him out yelling "Get out! We've got the gay in here! It's catching! You don't want that now, do you? It's got some pretty bad symptoms!". A blush came to his face at the thought of symptoms, as, in his prehiperal vision, caught a strand of red. Roxas coughed and quickly looked out the window. Well, he seemed straight enough, but not narrow…yet…he, very apparently, knew Demyx. Who was this guy?

And then his eyes caught Sora.

The normally yappy dog would have engaged immediately in convorsation. It loved to ask questions like "How are you?" or "Isn't this lovely weather we're having?" or "So…I've got a great story to tell you…it's about my dad…" but it sat, blue eyes at attention on silver hair, knife now loosly poised over the remaining sushi. The blond's brow clouded over in analyzation. _Is…is that a blush?_

Before he could do anything more, a thin blond figure emerged from the back, hair in it's normal style. A smile came to Demyx's face as he took in silver hair.

"Riku! How's my favorite drummer today?"

Riku, a well mannered smile coming to his face, embraced the sitarist a bit reluctantly. A quiet, yet seemingly audible _tsk_ came from Axel's general direction. Riku jabbed a thumb at the entrance "The rest of Second Sight wants to get set up, so…we wanted a little help, okay?"

Demyx made a pouty face "You mean…I have to lift stuff? But—" Riku sighed.

"I know, I know…you don't want to. Well, that's fine. Just…let us know where you want stuff, okay?"

Demyx made a sound that would have normally come out of a twelve year old girl that just received her favorite kind of ice cream "Okay! I can do that! Ohhhh! You're the best!" And began to follow Riku out, with a bit of a skip it seemed. As the drummer exited, Demyx stopped and turned to Axel whom was still working. "I heard that small touch of disapproval, dear. Don't think I'm deaf…'cause…" The ocean bright eyes squinted shut for a moment, trying to find something good to jab at the redhead. Axel gave him a withering glance and continued working, as if he were used to it. Demyx huffed out, quickly "…I'm not!" The sitarist made a small _hhmph! _and walked out, keeping the door open. Axel remarked quietly under his breath "-pedophile…"

Roxas' drying towel landed on the sushi bar with a muted slap as he began polishing it down too. "Bit girly for a pedophile…don't you—?"

"Who _was _that?" Sora's eyes were wide with admiration, still glued to the open door where silver hair once was. Roxas' teeth went slightly on edge, miffed that usually whatever he said ended up either being ignored or awkward. Regardless, the blond could almost see the sparkles framing the brunette's visage. He sighed _way to be obvious_. Axel, too deeply entrenched in work, mostly because of Demyx's antics, didn't seem to notice Sora's change in nature. "What, Riku? Surprised you don't know him. He's a neighborhood kid that's been playing the drums for ages. Demyx bumped into him at a concert…"

Roxas went into a bit of a daze suddenly, catching movement out of the corner of his eye. His eyes drifted towards the thin legs, the short, white dress, the gentle curve of her neck, her blond hair tucked behind an ear. He had to ask her, had to ask her before his courage would fail him again. He noticed how dry his throat suddenly was as he edged his way over to Namine, eyes averted only to her, ignoring the flaming red hair…

Or at least trying to.

He leaned up against the receptionists desk, trying to be cool—no! trying to be himself. Curious blue eyes peered up into his, and the back of his neck burned.

"Hi, Roxas. What's up?" A light smile curved her sweet lips. Roxas suddenly found that he couldn't speak. "Uhm…hi. Not too much…listen…uh…"

"Yeah?" Namine giggled, looking around.

"Well…what I'm trying to say is…you know…"

"…uh…huh…?"

"I…I'm trying to find a way to say this. It's so…"

"Can I be blunt?" Roxas chewed his lip apprehensively as he waited for Namine's response. "You want to take me out on a date?" Namine offered, leaning over the counter a bit. Roxas' eyes widened. Was he _that_ obvious? If he was…then everyone must know that he was—

"No. I mean! Yes…well…not really…but…"

Namine laughed "Jeeze, you're red as raw tuna. Just say what you mean, I won't mind."

Blushing again? The boy made a mental note of controlling that. Roxas felt the majority of his nervousness melt away, thankful for Namine's patience, as he let a shaky hand graze the back of his neck. "Some friends and I are going a Karaoke bar, and…I was wondering…if you wanted to come with us."

Namine's smile flared again, lids squeezed over pale, blue eyes. "See? Now that wasn't so hard to say, was it? 'Course I'll go." Roxas smiled as well. It wasn't as bad as he had imagined. At least step one was complete. He would ask her tonight, and then, his doubt would be free from his mind. With Namine, he was safe.

"Good…I'll see you after work." Roxas began walking backwards, raising a hand in parting, and managed to stumble over the leg of a chair in the process. Both the boy and girl began laughing giddily again, as they began resuming their work. Roxas couldn't help but smile determinedly. Tonight was the night when it all would end.

The blond shook his head and turned a bit when a newscaster's voice cut loud and clear through the restaurant, accompanied by the familiar high pitched hum of a television set. There sat, on one of the shelves over the sushi bar, a newscaster from the shoulders up in a black box. He felt a sudden chill prick his spine as the report continued.

"…The Jenova Gang was found yesterday at the Shin-Ra medical plant trying to appropriate a certain amount of drugs. Shin- Ra is one of the finest medical industries, and many of the cities in the surrounding area, including it's home Midgar, relies heavily on said products. Aeris Gainsborough reports more on this medical mayham…"

Axel looked up, brow furrowed, and began to reach high to its volume setting. Sora actually managed to come out of his reverie "Midgar? That's not too far away…" Riku entered, carrying parts of a drum kit, while Demyx was happily skipping behind. Sora went back into sparkle mode "…Hiiiiiiiii…" His tongue lazed out, but it seemed that he was unnoticed. Axel quickly shushed him as the report continued, accompanied by a dramatic screen of drugs on a conveyor belt.

"Shin-Ra Medical Industries has been dutifully shipping drugs to places like Galbadia, to places like Midgar in it's original home. However, it's untarnished reputation has been impugned upon today." The calm female voice with according visual switched to a nicely dressed, attractive girl, seeming to walk through the facility itself "The Jenova Gang has been known for their petty theviery and their brutal beatings, and generally being unorganized. Action like this, however, was a bit difficult to peg as their work." It suddenly cut to a scruffy blond man that looked to be in his early fifties shook his head. The words "Cid Highwind: Chief of Police" quickly faded "It's kinda strange to see Jenova around these parts. They usually target randomly, but this was pretty specific."

Roxas felt his stomach drop. Even the mere mention of the Jenova Gang nearly brought him to his knees, or urge to vomit or…something. A sweep of utter terror fell through him quickly. They were still on the streets. They still walked free.

"What the hell's the Jenova Gang doing around those parts?" Demyx's voice resounded loudly throughout the restaurant. Band equipment also clanked in. Everyone could almost hear Axel's eyes roll onto the blond sitarist. The blond got a defeated look in his face "Shut up and you'll find out. Right. Soooorrrryyyy…" He cocked his head for emphasis and sat down. Axel "tsked".

"…It is suspected that the Jenova Gang stole three boxes of Materia a few days ago. Police officials trying to find them. If you have any information on the Jenova Gang, please contact this number."

AN: Sorry…just kinda wanted to finish up this chapter. Got parts of chapter seven in the works ^^.


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